The Truth About Men’s Skincare

Cosmetic companies seem to think that men’s skincare products can be just like women’s, as long as they have a “manly” fragrance.  There are some basic differences between a man’s face and a woman’s.  These differences need to be taken into consideration when creating men anti-aging skincare products.  Otherwise, they just won’t be effective and could eventually make your skin look worse.

Even if you are a young man, you want to use men’s skincare solutions that delay the signs of aging.  It’s just the safest and healthiest thing that you can do, as long as you know which ingredients to look for and which to avoid.  If you keep reading, that’s what you’ll learn.

Just for Men Anti-aging Skincare Ingredients:

I call them “just for men anti-aging skincare ingredients”, because they address the issues of redness and inflammation.  Those are two problems that most guys have, particularly those that shave.  If you’re a young man, you might not “see” it, but it is a problem.

Not only does chronic inflammation, which is largely due to shaving, negatively affect your appearance, it can also affect the skin’s long-term health.  Researchers now believe that chronic inflammation plays a major role in the development of cancerous cells.

So, men’s skincare creams that contain natural anti-inflammatories may also help prevent skin cancer.  If you also strive to use cleansers and shaving lubricants that contain safe and natural ingredients, then you’ll look better today and in the future.

Using a just for men anti-aging skincare cream every day, after you shave, instead of the alcohol-based aftershaves that most guys use, is an important step.  The ingredients to look for include witch hazel and capuacu butter. 

Witch hazel was once the most popular solution for aftershaves, but petroleum-based alcohols are cheaper and basically took over the market.  Witch hazel is a plant-derived astringent that has natural antibacterial and antioxidant activity.  It has been recommended for psoriasis, eczema, blisters, cracked skin, insect bites, poison ivy and cold sores.

Capuacu butter comes from a fruit, native to South America.  It helps to heal razor and sunburns, contains essential fatty acids that are needed to replenish the skin’s moisture content.    

Ingredients that Men’s Skincare Products Should Not Contain:

The biggest problem with petroleum based alcohols is that they strip the skin of its natural moisture, causing excessive dryness and making the skin’s cells more easily damaged.  They also increase redness and irritation.  Plant-based alcohols are a better choice, but most companies don’t use them, because they cost more.

You don’t need or want artificial preservatives in a men anti-aging skincare cream.  Natural vitamin E is an effective preservative and an important antioxidant that prevents the appearance of age spots and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  Again, companies don’t use it, because it costs more than artificial preservatives.  Added fragrances are also unnecessary and a common cause of allergic reactions.

There is a new line of men’s skincare creams that are safe and effective.  That’s what you need to look for. Visit my website today to learn more about the natural substances that are designed to keep men’s skin looking healthy and young.

Rachel Hammond
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/the-truth-about-mens-skincare-675289.html

Holistic Skincare – Beauty on the Outside Begins Inside

Holistic skincare is a rare approach to beauty.  Finding 100% pure skincare products is next to impossible.The major cosmetic companies care little about purity and nothing about the body’s whole health.  They mostly care about their bottom lines.

But, you have more choices than you did at one time.  There are new companies entering the scene and some of them have the right idea.  They know how to care for the skin and its health.

Nutritional Factors

100% pure skincare creams and lotions are only one part of the picture.  If you truly want holistic skincare, there are a number of other factors to consider.  Nutrition is a big one. 

A diet that consists primarily of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with fish and seafood, will not only improve the way that you look, but also the way that you feel.  This is a high energy diet.  It provides all of your necessary nutrients, without a lot of added fat.

Our society tends to eat too many processed foods and our skin pays the price.  Blemishes, pimples, dark circles and the like are caused, at least in part, by too many toxins and too much animal fat in the foods that we eat.  So, give fresh foods, along with purified water, a try for a while and see how much your complexion improves.

Environmental Factors

To continue with your holistic skincare program, you must consider a few environmental factors.  Smoke and the sun play a major role in aging the skin.  Some of your health and beauty aids can cause problems, too.

100% pure skincare solutions would contain no artificial preservatives, fragrances or colors.  They would not contain toxins are hazardous chemicals.  But, most hair and skin care products contain large amounts of all of these things.  They also contribute to skin problems.

Free Radicals & Antioxidants

Although we haven’t always known it, holistic skincare has always been about fighting free radical damage.  The environmental and nutritional factors mentioned above revolve around free radical damage and countering antioxidants.

In my opinion, 100% pure skincare creams should contain antioxidants that we can apply directly to our skin.  See resource box. At least one company agrees with me.

A Complete Product

The epidermis has no blood vessels and most get it’s nourishment from the next layer down.  But we can also “feed” our faces, with the right cream.  For holistic skincare, a complete product should contain coenzyme Q10, vitamin E and B5.  Essential fatty acids from sources like grape seed oil.  Vitamin A from plant sources like kelp and the Shea nut. 

If you don’t give your skin everything that it needs, in the way of nourishment, you’ll look older, sooner.  Remember to protect yourself from the sun, when you are outside for extended periods of time, but don’t use the common sunscreens.  They are mostly ineffective and some of them can be deadly.  Zinc oxide broad spectrum sun block is the best choice.

There’s much more that I could tell you (and will in my newsletter) about new ideas and 100% pure skincare products, but that should be enough to get you started in the right direction.

To summarize:  I strongly recommend the holistic skincare method.  It simply means to eat properly, drink purified water, take a good vitamin/mineral supplement and use safe skin care products. (Stay out of big stores). I found one company in all my searching that has a superior supplement line and an excellent skin care line.

“Beauty on the outside begins on the inside”–Margaret Bell

Margaret Bell
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/holistic-skincare-beauty-on-the-outside-begins-inside-586112.html

Searching for the Ultimate Antiaging Skincare Product

It may seem unbelievable but in my search for the secret to the best antiaging skincare product, I found my self traveling to many interesting and mysterious places. I visited the cool crisp mountains of the Swiss Alps, the hot, beautiful african jungles and the ancient, rich ungerground domains of some of the most secret Egyptian tombs. At the end of my search I was surprised with what I had learned and realised that I had learned far more than which antiaging skincare product to look for.

The Power of Tea

I discovered many things but one thing that kept coming up all around the world was the claim that a high quality green tea product was one answer to my search for an antiaging skincare product. Tea is an ancient drink that has been used for centuries and many of us know and love tea in various forms. Green Tea is considered by many to be a health food because it has so many benefits one of which is the properties that help with detoxification. Many claim that green tea helps with anti aging, helps protect against cancer, helps to prevent heart disease, gum disease, and even has been said to help with the weight loss battle as well.

Back To Antiaging Skincare Product

To get a little technical for a moment, we need to discuss what is in the tea that helps the antiaging process. Tea conatains polyphenols that do a significant amount of work. These polyphenols effectively fight against the signs of aging by keeping our bodies healthy inside. These are known as catechins. There are many different catechins in tea and it is these catechins that perform the bulk of the effects.

Why green tea?

Green tea has almost twenty times the amount of catechins in it that black tea has. Green tea elevates the antioxidant effects of your skin, cells and even blood by allowing it to fight the devastating aging that is caused constantly by the effect of oxygen on the body cells. This means that the higher the level of polyphenols in a product that you have working for you, the greater the anti aging effect on your skin. It may sound like an an unusual method in terms of your skin care routine, especially when we live in a world filled with expensive lotions and creams, but it is exciting to think that it is possible that, maybe, the best antiaging skin care product out there could be something you could just drink. Of course a really important point to remember is that while you are taking care of your skincare needs you will also be benefitting your body because the green tea will not only help your skin but all the cells of your body. It seems that it is becoming widely accepted that green teas actually do help us with our skin care and our search for having young looking skin.

Information Is The Best

As I searched for information on I realised that the search became almost as important, if not more important than the search for the ultimate antiaging skincare product. In my search around this varied world, I became amazed with the quantity of information that is available about the skin already and I came to realize that we should be using that information to our advantage first and leave the search for the ulitmate skin cream until last. While we must always take care of the surface of our skin, we must remember that it is a living organ and if we can have an effect at the cellular level where the skin is formed then we will be much more effective in our fight against antiaging. It may turn out that our best weapon to fight the signs of aging could just turn turn out to be education. Now that is a thought!

Louise Nova
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/searching-for-the-ultimate-antiaging-skincare-product-70506.html

The Vital Ingredients to Look for in Skincare Products

Everyone wants the most effective skincare products, but they can be hard to find.  Assuming that you want to delay the signs of age, which everyone does, there are specific ingredients to look for.  Most of the anti-aging creams on the market are completely ineffective and prone to cause adverse reactions, but things are changing, for the better.

Public safety groups like the Environmental Working Group have helped to bring about the change.  Of course, participating in the program is strictly voluntary and the big brand names have yet to sign up, even though they have been contacted several times.  In order to find a company that is participating, you simply need to look for a label that says “Proud Signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics”. 

The great thing is that the most effective skincare products are also the safest, because the things that the skin’s cells really need are nutrients.  You may have noticed that healthy people who have excellent nutritional habits look younger.  It makes sense, if you think about it.  The cells of the skin are just like those of the rest of the body.  What do the cells of the human body need?

They need amino acids, to create protein building blocks that make up new cells.  When it comes to the skin, there are several important proteins, including collagen, elastin and keratin.  There is also a unique amino acid, glucose complex known as hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is something like glue.  It holds the skin’s cells and fibers together.  Without it, you see a lot of sagging, dark circles under the eyes and a generally aged appearance.  The levels of hyaluronic acid in the skin are lower in older people. 

The accepted method of addressing this issue was to include a form of hyaluronic acid in a topically applied solution.  In some cases, that’s the only active ingredient in the cream.  But, those aren’t the most effective skincare products.

Research teams evaluating natural remedies looked at a kind of seaweed or kelp called wakame.  It was used in traditional Asian medicine to treat a variety of skin conditions and to “preserve beauty”.  The team found that wakame extracts inhibit an enzymatic reaction that breaks down hyaluronic acid.  In clinical studies, that when older volunteers used creams containing the extract, the level of hyaluronic acid began to rise, by a substantial amount, in only a few days.

So, the most effective skincare products contain wakame kelp.  They also contain amino acid complexes that the skin’s cells can use to produce collagen.  Collagen production normally decreases with age.  Creams that contain animal collagens don’t work to increase the amount of collagen in the skin and they often cause prolonged redness.

Amino acid complexes are clinically proven to work.  They increase the number of new cells and the amount of collagen fibers present in the skin.  They increase firmness and elasticity, as well as the skin’s moisture content.  Those are the most effective skincare products that money can buy.

Visit my website today to learn more about the natural substances that are excellent for keeping your skin healthy and young looking.

Rachel Hammond
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/the-vital-ingredients-to-look-for-in-skincare-products-675287.html

What to Look for in a Natural Skincare Product

Before you buy natural skincare products, take a moment to read this article.  Most consumers think that a product advertised in this way contains all-natural ingredients.  But, that may not be the case. 

In most countries, cosmetic companies are allowed to use phrases like “natural”, “hypo-allergenic” and even “doctor recommended” without meeting any requirements.  The terms are unregulated and used primarily for promotional purposes.  Your only source of accurate information is the ingredients label and sometimes, even that isn’t that helpful.  Warning labels are often a better indication of what’s really in that product.

If you are advised to discontinue use if redness, itching or a rash appears, then the product contains known allergens, irritants or both.  If there is a warning to contact a poison control center, in the event of accidental ingestion, then, obviously, the product contains a known poison.  If you’re like me, you want natural skincare products because you want something safer that is better for your skin’s health, but that’s not always what the companies are providing.

Even when there are no warning labels, there may be contaminants, of which the company is unaware.  Testing for contamination of raw ingredients and individual batches is not a requirement.  I know of only one company that actually performs that kind of testing, but I think that it is very important.

Unless the plants used in a product come from an organic farm, then there are likely to be residues of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals.  If extracts from roots are included, there could be lead, mercury, cadmium and other naturally occurring elements that build up in the body’s tissues and organs.  If added fragrances are included in the product, even ones like lavender oil and rosewater, they are likely to cause irritation and/or allergic reactions.

There are many natural skincare products on the market that contain organic sun-screening compounds.  The daily use of sunscreen is a controversial issue, since it can lead to vitamin D deficiencies and there is no clear proof that it reduces our risk of skin cancer.  But, the daily use of creams containing oxybenzone or benzophenone is likely to increase our risk of skin cancer. 

Scientific studies have shown that these organic compounds damage DNA strands within the cells, but only when exposed to UV rays from the sun.  Hmmm…isn’t that what they were supposed to be protecting us from.  The DNA damage predisposes the cells to cancer, making them “probable” human carcinogens.

The bottom line is that all natural skincare products are not safe.  Look for a company that has signed the “Compact for Safe Cosmetics”, a voluntary group created to help protect customers. 

Buy only creams and lotions that are free of artificial preservatives, but make sure that the company includes natural vitamin E or the oils in the product will become rancid, very quickly.  Look for other nutrients like coenzyme Q10, protein and essential fatty acids.  Natural skincare products like that can improve your appearance and delay the signs of aging.  Who could ask for more!

Visit my website today to learn more about the natural substances that are excellent for keeping your skin young looking and healthy.

Rachel Hammond
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/what-to-look-for-in-a-natural-skincare-product-675268.html

Natural Skincare Ingredients Can Re-build Collagen and Elastin

When was the last time you bought a skin care product? Did you buy your regular brand just like you always do, or were you tempted to find something a bit different, better or maybe an all-natural skincare product?

With so many choices, it’s hard to make good decisions all the time when buying a new product. If you get it wrong, you’ve wasted your money, and most of us can’t afford to keep doing that.

Natural skin care products are becoming very popular because of great advances in natural skincare technology. In the past nine months new breakthroughs in minute nano techniques, have resulted in ingredients capable of penetrating deep into your skin to stimulate your collagen elastin matrix.

At this stage these patented substance are not readily available to large cosmetic companies. However, there are a few small manufacturers you’ve probably not even heard of, that do supply these natural skincare products.

One substance Cynergy TK”(TM)” has the ability to stimulate and increase your collagen and elastin protein levels, it’s now highly in demand and not yet available in big brand names.

Cynergy TK can penetrate through your outer skin layer (epidermis). It contains the ingredient functional keratin”(TM)” a natural substance extracted from wool of New Zealand sheep. Keratin protein is found throughout the body and along with collagen and elastin has an important structural role in the skin.

This manufacturer has perfected a method of converting natural keratin into this new functional form. This becomes readily available to the skin by using its unique patented process of keratin solublization.

Scientific studies show functional keratin stimulates production of new skin cells. It contains low concentrations of zinc protein complexes to help repair and maintain the skin. And low concentrations of copper protein complexes, which help, restore skin’s ability to heal itself.

Zinc and copper bound in a protein have been shown effective in regenerating new skin tissue, and increasing the synthesis of collagen and elastin. The upshot is an increase in thickness of the outer skin layer; this results in a reduction of fine lines and the depth of wrinkles.

In conclusion, there are now new special natural skincare products available that can positively affect the condition of your skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. You more than likely won’t find these natural skincare substances at your local store. But, you can do some research on the Internet, if you want more information on these unique ingredients.

At my website, I discuss more natural skincare products and other ingredients that can help improve your skin, that I personally chose to use daily.

Kathryn M. Reid
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/natural-skincare-ingredients-can-rebuild-collagen-and-elastin-749301.html

Natural Skincare Ingredients Can Re-build Collagen and Elastin

When was the last time you bought a skin care product? Did you buy your regular brand just like you always do, or were you tempted to find something a bit different, better or maybe an all-natural skincare product?

With so many choices, it’s hard to make good decisions all the time when buying a new product. If you get it wrong, you’ve wasted your money, and most of us can’t afford to keep doing that.

Natural skin care products are becoming very popular because of great advances in natural skincare technology. In the past nine months new breakthroughs in minute nano techniques, have resulted in ingredients capable of penetrating deep into your skin to stimulate your collagen elastin matrix.

At this stage these patented substance are not readily available to large cosmetic companies. However, there are a few small manufacturers you’ve probably not even heard of, that do supply these natural skincare products.

One substance Cynergy TK”(TM)” has the ability to stimulate and increase your collagen and elastin protein levels, it’s now highly in demand and not yet available in big brand names.

Cynergy TK can penetrate through your outer skin layer (epidermis). It contains the ingredient functional keratin”(TM)” a natural substance extracted from wool of New Zealand sheep. Keratin protein is found throughout the body and along with collagen and elastin has an important structural role in the skin.

This manufacturer has perfected a method of converting natural keratin into this new functional form. This becomes readily available to the skin by using its unique patented process of keratin solublization.

Scientific studies show functional keratin stimulates production of new skin cells. It contains low concentrations of zinc protein complexes to help repair and maintain the skin. And low concentrations of copper protein complexes, which help, restore skin’s ability to heal itself.

Zinc and copper bound in a protein have been shown effective in regenerating new skin tissue, and increasing the synthesis of collagen and elastin. The upshot is an increase in thickness of the outer skin layer; this results in a reduction of fine lines and the depth of wrinkles.

In conclusion, there are now new special natural skincare products available that can positively affect the condition of your skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. You more than likely won’t find these natural skincare substances at your local store. But, you can do some research on the Internet, if you want more information on these unique ingredients.

At my website, I discuss more natural skincare products and other ingredients that can help improve your skin, that I personally chose to use daily.

Kathryn M. Reid
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/natural-skincare-ingredients-can-rebuild-collagen-and-elastin-749301.html

The Best Skincare Creams Can Re-grow New Collagen Skin Cells Naturally

You may be unaware that the new generation of natural skin care creams use advanced nano technology, that enables the best skincare ingredients to re-grow collagen skin cells naturally within your skin.

No doubt you’ve tried many different skin creams and moisturizers over the last few years. As you would expect some work better than others on your skin. A lot of them contain good natural moisturizing substances. However, the trend is for most of them to now include collagen as an ingredient.

These products then infer that the inclusion of this collagen will somehow help to reduce deep wrinkles, and within a short time they will be significantly reduced in size. This inference is misleading, because collagen molecules are too big to fit through your top skin layer and reach your internal collagen structure. Also they neglect to mention that collagen is not a stimulant to produce more collagen.

However, a very few of the best skincare products can accomplish this task. One in particular that I’m aware of is manufactured by a New Zealand company. They use new breakthrough nano technology to convert natural keratin into a new ingredient called functional keratin”(TM)” that is contained in their substance Cynergy TK”(TM)”.

Functional Keratin in this natural form is bio-available to the body, and can therefore penetrate deep within your skin to reach and stimulate both collagen and elastin protein skin cell re-growth. This results in an increase in skin thickness and structural strength, plus your elastin will regain more of its elasticity and spring. Increasing these two proteins in this way will result in a gradual disappearance of fine lines and a reduction of deep wrinkles.

Cynergy TK is the most unique and optimal ingredient the best skincare cream will contain. Yet, a good quality natural skincare product should contain additional substances that can also positively affect collagen and elastin proteins. It must include emollients and antioxidants to fight free radical damage and moisturize your skin.

In my opinion, these days’ only natural skin care products containing collagen and elastin boosting ingredients can truly be regarded as the best skincare products available on the market.

At my website, I discuss more on the best skincare products and other natural ingredients that can help improve your skin, that I personally chose to use daily.

Kathryn M. Reid
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/the-best-skincare-creams-can-regrow-new-collagen-skin-cells-naturally-749376.html

Natural Skincare – What You Must Know About

Today’s market is flooded with skincare products that claim to be all-natural.  The truth is that many of these products are far from what they claim to be.  Truly natural skincare products are free of artificial perfumes, dyes, and chemicals. 

Often, a product will claim to be natural when it is actually using synthetic versions of natural minerals and proteins.  With so many ingredients in each product, it may seem like a daunting task to find out if a product line is truly natural, but with my help, you will be able to weed out the artificial products with ease.

The best way to find out more about a product is to go to the manufacturer’s website.  An honest product will have a clear list of ingredients, as well as explanations of active ingredients and how they work to benefit you.  If you see alcohols and perfumes, you should typically be a little leery of the product. 

In addition to being chemical in origin, alcohols actually dry out your skin and make it slightly irritated.  Perfumes are often made with chemicals as well, and some even have ingredients that can be toxic in large doses.  It is important to keep in mind that anything you put on your skin will also enter into your bloodstream as it is absorbed.  

If a company’s website does not fully answer your questions, you still have ways to find out if the product is truly all-natural.  The first is to call the customer service number listed on the product’s packaging.  A product made by a reputable company will have someone available to answer and address any concerns you may have.  If this does not work, then use your Internet to perform searches on any ingredients you are not sure of.

Where all of this can get tricky is with certain proteins.  Keratin, for example is often a listed ingredient on natural skincare products.  Many companies use a man-made version of keratin that while structurally similar, is unrecognizable to the skin and therefore essentially useless in producing real results. 

Some companies, however, use a wool derived form of Keratin called Functional Keratin that is close enough to the Keratin produced by our own bodies that the skin is able to use it to reduce wrinkles and promote skin firmness and elasticity. 

A patented version of Functional Keratin known as CynergyTK uses a patented method of rendering the Keratin so that it is so much like human skin that it has actually been nicknamed liquid skin.  This is just one of the many proteins that you will have to look into when selecting a natural skincare cream or lotion.

If all of this sounds like a lot of work, rest assured that it is not.  Most of this research can be done from the comfort of your own home.  Once you find a natural skincare line that you believe in, that has shown documented results and has proven research, the work is over. 

It is worth a great deal of homework to stop spending money on chemicals and products that simply don’t work.  What are you waiting for?  Look today and put your skincare worries to rest for good.

Betty Wolfe
http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/natural-skincare-what-you-must-know-about-502963.html

A Natural and Organic Skincare Christmas Gift is the Perfect Choice

Cosmetics, make up, perfume and beauty treatments are usually high up on the wish gift list of any woman, but choosing the right skincare gifts can be another minefield altogether. Most women have extremely personal tastes when it comes to beauty and skincare therefore you have to be sure to buy them something that they are going to love and use. Organic skincare is a real growth area with more and more women and men moving away from the harsh chemicals found in regular skincare products to reap the benefits and natural goodness found in organic products.

A natural and organic skincare Christmas gift could be exactly what your Mum or sister wants this Christmas. Plus it has the added bonus of showing that you have really thought about their present and come up with something that will be kind to their skin and the environment.

If your Mum, sister or friend has been complaining about having a particularly hectic holiday period or a stressful time at work you should be able to find a natural and organic skincare Christmas gift that will help to address this issue. There are usually organic gift sets available that are specifically for relaxing with essential oils like lavender and rose in them. You should also be able to find sets for nourishing, reviving, pampering or even detoxing – so they can make a fresh start in the New Year!

An increasing number of people are turning to organic skincare products due to the fact there is more and more research to support claims that the chemicals in regular cosmetics can actually be detrimental to your health. Frightening statistics are constantly emerging about the chemicals in cosmetics and what they can do to your body. When you think that more than a third of our personal care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer (according to The Environmental Working Group) in the long and short-term they will thank you for their natural and organic skincare Christmas gift.

Anne Marie Williams Nyr
http://www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/a-natural-and-organic-skincare-christmas-gift-is-the-perfect-choice-701218.html